Tuesday, April 12, 2016

CETA Student Research - Wind Tunnel

UHart Students’ Wind Tunnel Research Will Benefit the
Aerospace Industry

Mark Markiewicz ’18 and his
teammates working on the wind tunnel

Walking into the turbomachinery lab
on the lower level of the University of Hartford’s Dana Hall, you can feel the
excitement and happiness of eight mechanical engineering students there. They
have spent the last two years building a wind tunnel in the lab. Now, they are
finally able to unveil it and use it to conduct research that will be useful to
the aerospace industry.

“You have no idea how exciting this
is,” says Mark Markiewicz ’18, who joined the project as a first-year student
in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA). The wind
tunnel allows Mark and his teammates to study and measure key aspects of
aerodynamics. They expect that their findings will make jet engines’ turbines
and blades more efficient and help aerospace companies save millions of
dollars. The research may also benefit power plants which rely on turbines.

The opportunity to do research using
this type of equipment is typically reserved for graduate students at other
universities but this team is made up of undergraduates selected by CETA
mechanical engineering professor Ivana Milanovic. Milanovic made Mark,
who is a sophomore, the project lead after he impressed her with his analytical
and supervisory skills. Although she remains involved to provide oversight and
mentorship, Professor Milanovic lets Mark and his classmates make daily
decisions to ensure everything is done properly.

Gianna Sabino ’16, who was brought
on to the project in the summer of 2015, learned a lot from working on the
build and the research, so much so that it helped her get a job. She will start
working for Pratt and
Whitney in June conducting tests on wind tunnels.